Moog Mariana isn’t your typical Moog synth plugin — but we love its modern soundWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. For more information on how this works, see our terms of use.
$99 (Mac/PC), $29.99 (iOS), available at pluginboutique.com
Although best known for its legacy of exceptional hardware synths, Moog has also released a string of stellar software instruments in recent years. Alongside recreating some classics in plugin form, it’s invented original apps such as the Animoog wavetable instrument.
The Asheville brands’ latest plugin is a bass-focused synth that takes cues from the company’s Minimoog, Minitaur and Sub 37 hardware but is completely new — something with a more modern and aggressive sound. Despite a few issues with editing and high CPU usage, it’s a decent-sounding synth with nods to both the past and the future.

What is Moog Mariana?
Mariana is essentially two identical synths in one plugin, which allows you to create rich-sounding, layered mono patches or play two notes in duophonic mode. You can download it on iOS or for desktop in a range of formats.

Each synth has two main oscillators that share a single waveshape selection dial, alongside controls to adjust the phase, pulse width, tuning, and glide, plus Key Reset and Hard Sync buttons.
Unlike the more familiar Minimoog controls, you’re limited with how you pitch each oscillator, as the second can only run in unison, or plus one or two octaves. As we’ll come to see though, this is part of several limitations that both help and hinder Mariana as a sound design tool.
The oscillators sound rich and bright but surprisingly lack some of the low weight that Moog synths are renowned for. Thankfully, this is made up for by a dedicated sub-oscillator with three waveshapes, which can be unlinked from the main oscillator’s pitch should you so desire.
There’s also a flexible noise oscillator that lets you blend between red, pink, white, blue and purple types, a mixer to control all the levels, and a Spread dial that pans each of the main oscillators left and right for a wider sound.
Moog Mariana Main GUI
Moog Mariana’s filter section has no Ladders
Next up is Mariana’s filter section, which is perhaps one of its most interesting features.
This isn’t a traditional Moog Ladder filter. It has similar characteristics, but the resonance is a little more aggressive and pronounced with no low-end reduction when it’s turned up. The routing takes a little getting used to, but is surprisingly flexible.
Oscillators 1, 2, and Noise get routed through low-pass and high-pass filters, which you can run in series or parallel. You also have the option to just use the low-pass for the oscillators, and the high-pass for the noise. We find this particularly useful when building a weighty subbass that makes use of high-passed noise to give the feeling of a distorted sizzle.
The sub-oscillator has a dedicated filter that can be switched between low-pass, band-pass and high-pass with an envelope amount dial. When combined with Sub’s 3 waveshapes, this lets you craft your low-end independently of the main oscillators, keeping it clean and strong.
Moog Mariana CV
There’s also a unique Osc Crossover dial, which works by simultaneously rolling off the high-end for the sub, and the low-end for the other oscillators. You just have to set the crossover with the dial, and the result is much cleaner. You may want to add a touch of saturation to bring the volume and beef back up, though.
Moog Mariana’s user interface
Mariana’s user interface has a satisfying hardware look that mirrors Moog’s Sub 37 synth, with dark panels, large dials and yellow buttons.
You can edit sounds by switching between a Synth page for the oscillators and filters, and a CNTRL page for the modulation, both of which are doubled-up for Synth 2. There’s also an Output page (more on that later) and modulation tabs on the sides that can be switched on and off.
Moog Mariana CNTRL Modulation Page
Everything is crisp, clear and easy to see, but it’s obvious that this synth has been made with a consideration of iPad usability. With that in mind, it can be a little cumbersome to jump back and forth between the synth and modulation pages when programming the desktop version.
Modulation in the Mariana
Speaking of modulation, Mariana includes three LFOs, filter and amplifier envelopes, an ADHSR mod envelope, and two random generators with sample and hold, noise and Perlin modes. This gives you plenty of flexibility — especially as you essentially have it twice, as you can use Synth 2’s mod page to control Synth 1.
You can add modulation by opening the mod tab. You then get a long list of sources alongside the ability to add a modifier or a function to further shape the results. The workflow isn’t smooth, but it’s incredibly versatile, and using one mod on another means you can build extremely complex, moving patches.
However, given that you have two synths here, it would’ve been useful to have a few macro controls to easily tweak both layers at once, or the ability to link specific controls between each synth.
The CV section further expands editing options. You can choose any mod source and send them out via one of eight possible, virtual CV slots. These signals can then be received by another instance of Mariana, or by any of Moog’s Moogerfooger effects plugins. This opens up vast realms of sound design — you could have several different synths moving to the same LFOs, or you could modulate an entire effects chain to move with your patch.

Maximum output
Mariana sounds pretty huge anyway but the icing on the cake is the Output page. Here, you can control the volume and panning and add three flavours of saturation to each synth layer.
There’s also a compressor with optional FET mode to help round-off your sounds (there also seems to be a built-in limiter that stops overload, which is a nice touch). Another useful feature is a correlation meter to help maintain mono compatibility while building patches.
Moog Mariana Modulation Editing
A design choice we dislike is the optional delay effect on Synth 1 and a chorus effect on Synth 2. Though these are both great at adding additional character, having them hardwired to only Synth 1 or 2 can make it tricky to get cohesion with certain sounds. Sure, it’s a limitation that gives the synth a certain uniqueness, but it would be far better to offer some more flexible routing.
There are over 200 presets that show off the synth’s versatility at cinematic drones, glistening arps, retro sound effects and drums, alongside more traditional basses. Happily, the preset page is intuitive, with useful search and tagging features.
Moog Mariana’s CPU usage
We wanted to check Mariana’s CPU usage on an old 2017 MacBook Pro, but it wouldn’t even load into Logic Pro as it was running OSX 10.10 and it requires 10.11 (Big Sur) or newer.
On our M1 Mac Studio, a single instance uses around 40-50% of one core, which is fairly substantial when you consider u-he’s Diva on Devine mode is closer to 25-30%. However, patches in Mariana often have quite a big sound that can easily fill a mix, so you may not want to run lots of instances.
The CPU load doesn’t change when you add Synth 2 into the mix or switch on the saturation and effects, so it’s running at full capacity the whole time. Moog should have considered a lower-quality mode that switches to high-quality when rendering; perhaps one for a future update?
Moog Mariana Output Page
Should you buy Moog Mariana?
Mariana might not be exactly what you expect from Moog. It leans towards a slightly brighter and more aggressive sound than the more familiar Moog warmth. That’s not necessarily a bad thing though, as there are plenty of authentic sounding Minimoog emulations already out there, so it’s nice that Moog has built a synth with that desirable Moog flavour with a slightly different, contemporary sound.
The high CPU usage may be a deal breaker for some, as will certain limitations in the design. However, you could argue that this makes it more like a hardware synth, where those kinds of limitations can actually help with faster sound design and focused creativity.
Key features

Monophonic/duophonic bass synthesiser
VST3, AU, AAX plug-ins, plus iPad and standalone versions
2 synth layers with 2 oscillators, 1 sub-oscillator and noise
Flexible low pass and high pass filters
Dedicated filter for the sub-oscillator
Deep modulation system plus MIDI and MPE
3 LFOs, amplifier, filter and modulation envelopes, plus 2 random generators
Virtual CV to send signals to other instances of Mariana or Moogerfooger plugins
Output section with tube, tape and overdrive saturation
Compressor with FET mode
Real time output and correlation metering
Analogue delay and chorus effects
Resizable user interface

The post Moog Mariana isn’t your typical Moog synth plugin — but we love its modern sound appeared first on MusicTech.

Neural DSP release Archetype: Gojira X The latest version of Archetype: Gojira introduces some useful functionality updates, and paves the way for compatibility with Neural DSP's Quad Cortex hardware system.

Microsoft launches a Pro plan for CopilotMicrosoft evidently envisions Copilot, the umbrella brand for its portfolio of AI-powered, content-generating technologies, becoming a significant future revenue line-item. And that’s perhaps not far off base; according to the company, more than 40% of the Fortune 100 participated in its Copilot early access program. But given the enormous cost of running GenAI models in […]
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Ditto Music Surveys Indie Artists on Releasing VinylGlobal music distribution company Ditto Music has discovered that only 12.8% of independent musicians have released their music on vinyl, despite UK vinyl sales reaching their highest level since 1990.

Ditto’s survey of 1,000 independent artists found that the main reason for artists not releasing vinyl was that production costs were too high (54.4%). Other factors included fan bases not being interested in vinyl products (28.7%) and production times being too long (9.9%).

Key results of the survey can be seen in the graph below:

dittomusic.com

Variety Of Sound Releases FREE epicCLOUDS Ambient Reverb
Variety of Sound released epicCLOUDS, a freeware ambient reverb plugin for Windows. epicCLOUDS can generate soft ambient reverb textures while maintaining signal clarity. It achieves a rich ambient reverb effect without succumbing to common issues such as signal masking. The launch of a new plugin from Variety of Sound is always cause for celebration. The [...]
View post: Variety Of Sound Releases FREE epicCLOUDS Ambient Reverb

Someone sold Thomas Bangalter a Daft Punk ticket in London not knowing who he was — Bangalter went anywayDaft Punk‘s Thomas Bangalter was a faceless robot for decades alongside his musical partner Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. So faceless, in fact, that someone tried to sell him tickets to his own show, he’s now revealed. The best part? He paid for the ticket and went anyway.
READ MORE: Official Avicii subreddit to launch podcast “from fans, for fans” and they want you to be a part of it
Speaking to French TV channel, Brut, the former silver-helmeted Daft Punk member says that the duo’s anonymity was often advantageous, but sometimes had bizarre consequences.
“This anonymity and creation of these characters allowed for protection and seclusion,” Bangalter remembers. “[It] was practical but also created a certain distance. There were amusing situations, like in London, where someone tried to sell me a ticket to my own show while I was out getting a sandwich. I thought it would be funny, so I bought the ticket, went to the venue, and waited.”
Speaking more on the choice to remain anonymous, Bangalter adds: “There’s a lot of randomness and chance involved, and it’s also a connection with the audience, even if there’s some distance due to the robot concept, which was a metaphor for the role of technology between utopia and dystopia. It was a constant back-and-forth, allowing us to have fun and express things.”

On the decision to recently make himself more in the public eye in light of new projects, Bangalter says: “At some point, it seemed pretentious to continue staying anonymous. I found myself in situations where people apologised for not having photos to ensure I wouldn’t be disturbed. I wasn’t seeking attention, but the anonymity started to attract more attention than it removed.”
In 2023, Bangalter explained why Daft Punk came to an end. “It’s a lot like a story or mini-saga. Sometimes there’s a TV show that has a special place in people’s hearts and it keeps that place, and it runs for one, two, three, four, five, sometimes 10 seasons.
“When you’re 25, you don’t say ‘You know what, we’re just going to build robot masks and dress up like robots until the day we die.’”
Read more Daft Punk-related news via MusicTech.
The post Someone sold Thomas Bangalter a Daft Punk ticket in London not knowing who he was — Bangalter went anyway appeared first on MusicTech.

Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter says anonymity led to “a kind of isolation which isn’t pleasant”Thomas Bangalter, a former member of Daft Punk, has spoken out about the anonymity provided by wearing the duo’s iconic robot helmets.

READ MORE: How the Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O.II encourages you to push past creative limits

Speaking to French news channel Brut, Bangalter highlights the advantages, disadvantages and funny scenarios that occurred from wearing the helmets. At one point, for example, he recalls a time someone sold him a ticket to his own show, not realising it was one half of Daft Punk himself.
“This anonymity and creation of these characters allowed for protection and seclusion,” Bangalter says, “which was practical but also created a certain distance. There were amusing situations, like in London, where someone tried to sell me a ticket to my own show while I was out getting a sandwich. I thought it would be funny, so I bought the ticket, went to the venue, and waited.
“When we created these robot characters, it seemed to become part of performance art, playing between fiction and reality. Anonymity could approach both humility and, like comic book heroes, a bit of schizophrenia between the alter ego and human side.
“Yes, I think there’s a lot of randomness and chance involved, and it’s also a connection with the audience, even if there’s some distance due to the robot concept, which was a metaphor for the role of technology between utopia and dystopia. It was a constant back-and-forth, allowing us to have fun and express things.

Later in the interview, Bangalter, who released a solo album called Mythologies in April 2023 following the duo’s breakup in 2021, addresses what it’s been like to drop this anonymity.
“What’s interesting is that anonymity initially stems from a desire for discretion and a lot of humility”, he says. “At some point, it seemed pretentious to continue staying anonymous, and I found myself in situations where people apologised for not having photos to ensure I wouldn’t be disturbed. I wasn’t seeking attention, but the anonymity started to attract more attention than it removed.
“So, after hiding for 20 years, the message about intentions and freedom has been conveyed. It was just an artistic gesture, and anonymity was crucial during the existence of these characters, creating an oscillation between reality and fiction. It protected me, but it could also lead to a kind of isolation, which isn’t particularly pleasant. I did consider it, but ultimately, I realised it wasn’t at the centre of my concerns.”
Read more Daft Punk-related news via MusicTech.
The post Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter says anonymity led to “a kind of isolation which isn’t pleasant” appeared first on MusicTech.

Sontronics acquired by 2B Heard Limited Sontronics have announced that they have been acquired by 2B Heard Limited, an audio solutions company renowned for their premium installation services.

Is Believe about to come off the stock market and re-privatize?Company's shareholders are reportedly exploring potential bids to go private
Source

TOP POSTS: Last week’s most read posts on HypebotCatch up on what everyone’s been talking about with last week’s most-read posts. We’ve got topics ranging from Spotify and music distributors to tips from an indie pro and more…
The post TOP POSTS: Last week’s most read posts on Hypebot appeared first on Hypebot.

Taylor Swift’s music is streamed more in the US than the entire Jazz and Classical genresSwift claimed an audio stream market share of 1.28%; her market share including record sales was even bigger, at 1.79%
Source

Akai MPCs to gain stem separation Users of Akai Pro's MPC range will soon be able to split their samples into stems and process them individually. 

Best reverb plugins 2024: Our favourite free and paid-for reverb pluginsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. For more information on how this works, read our terms of use.
Reverb is often pivotal in crafting a professional and three-dimensional sounding mix. From the original spring, plate and chamber reverb techniques to hardware algorithms and captured impulse responses, there are many different techniques to add depth to your audio.

READ MORE: The best rotary mixers to buy

As a general rule, most plugins either fall into the algorithmic or convolution categories. For the former, the quality of the programmed algorithms is an essential marker for how the effect sounds, and for the latter, it’s the variety of the captured impulse responses.
Whether you’re looking to place a drum kit in a realistic room or shoot your vocal to the Moon in a vast and unusual space, we’ve selected a wide range of reverbs for you to check out.
FabFilter – Pro-R 2

Pro-R 2 is the sequel to FabFilter’s original, much-loved reverb. The plugin features the same well-designed GUI with understandable controls such as Distance, Brightness and Space, and it has a unique Decay Rate EQ that lets you intuitively tweak the decay time for different parts of the spectrum.
This version ups the ante and adds Vintage and Plate algorithms alongside the original’s smooth and natural Modern style. There’s also a Thickness control to saturate and compress the reverb tail, built-in Ducking and Auto-Gate features, a Freeze button, support for surround and Immersive Audio, extra output settings for each Decay Rate and Post EQ band, and an improved preset browser. Plus, an innovative Impulse Response import function that can turn IRs into algorithmic presets.
Read our full Pro-R 2 review here.
Key features:

Price: £144 (also available in several bundles)
Type: Algorithmic (Modern, Vintage, Plate)
IR import functionality, built-in ducking and auto-gate, great GUI

Get this plugin at Plugin Boutique.
Overloud – REmatrix

REmatrix isn’t far off being a decade old, but it’s a testament to its unique design and usefulness that it still makes the list. It lets you choose, edit and blend up to five different impulse responses, which are then combined to make a final reverb sound. This means you can take the best characteristics of plates, rooms, halls, early reflections and special reverb styles, and create a rich and complex 3D space.
There are also built-in effects so you can modulate, compress, saturate and EQ the reverb, and add a delay effect and blend an algorithmic reverb underneath.
Arguably the best part of REmatrix is the large, high-quality library of Impulse Responses and presets that comes with it. And if you want more, there are 14 expansion libraries at €79 a pop, plus three free ones available from the Overloud site.
Read our full REmatrix review here.
Key features:

Price: €199
Type: Convolution
Massive factory library with 330 IRs and 60 presets, plus expansions available

Get this plugin at Overloud.
Soundtoys – SuperPlate

It took five years from the release of Little Plate for Soundtoys to finally bring us its big brother, SuperPlate, but it was worth the wait. SuperPlate gives you the option of five different emulations, meticulously captured from vintage hardware units like the EMT140, Goldfoil EMT240, and Stocktronics RX 4000. Each brings a different plate flavour to the table, which can be further tweaked with three preamp options, modulation controls and a simple, built-in EQ.
The feature that really stands out, though, is the Auto-Decay function. Where other reverbs often have ducking effects that work by pulling down the volume, SuperPlate instead reduces the decay time. This works wonders on faster passages, as you still get a thick reverb sound, but the tails are much tighter, which results in a more prominent signal.
If you like the sound of plates, then this one is a no-brainer. Especially if you already own the Soundtoys bundle, as the upgrade cost is fairly cheap.
Read our full SuperPlate review here.
Key Features:

Price: $149
Type: Algorithmic (EMT140, Goldfoil EMT240, Audicon, EcoPlate III & Stocktronics RX40000)
Unique Auto-Decay ducking function, three preamp options with modulation and simple EQ

Get this plugin at Plugin Boutique.
Valhalla – Supermassive

Valhalla DSP makes a range of affordable, high-quality reverb plugins, including the revered VintageVerb, which you’ll find in many a producer’s toolkit. For this round-up though, we’ve chosen the exceptional Supermassive, which also happens to be free.
It’s just been updated to version three and now includes a huge 20 different reverb modes to choose from, which all have varying settings for attack, decay, density and repeating delays. These can be tempo-synced or left free-running, with various controls for Delay time, Warp, Density, modulation, low and high cut EQ, Mix and Width.
Although Supermassive can do shorter and more traditional reverb sounds, it excels at gigantic spaces with long, swelling waves echoing out into infinity. It’s an absolute wonder for sound design and creating atmospheric beds from anything you throw at it.
Key Features:

Price: FREE
Type: Algorithmic (20 reverb/delay modes)
Highly characterful algorithms for creating large epic spaces

Get this plugin at Valhalla DSP.
Baby Audio – Crystalline

Crystalline is arguably the least traditional-looking reverb here in terms of its design. The Baby Audio team has built a modern plugin that lets you control the size and reflection characteristics of its algorithm, rather than choosing between a small room or a hall.
You use icon-like graphics to tweak each control in sections called Reflections, Depth, Clean-up and Shape, which allow you to change the room size, stereo spread, modulation amount, reflection density, overall tone and more. There’s also a useful transient processor for controlling the attack and sustain portions of the reverb sound, a built-in ducker, and a freeze button.
Instead of pre-delay and decay time, you choose a start and end point for your reverb sound, which can also be synced to your DAW to get note-length divisions. It sounds fantastic, but can be a little heavy on the CPU. Thankfully though there’s an eco mode that can help with this.
Read our full Crystalline review here.
Key Features:

Price: $99
Type: Algorithmic
Intuitive algorithm editing, plus transient control of reverb tail

Get this plugin at Plugin Boutique.
Strymon – BigSky Plugin

If you’re familiar with the world of effects pedals, then you’ll no doubt have heard of the BigSky reverb by Strymon. The pedal has been around for 10 years, but due to its popularity, Strymon has finally decided to make the excellent algorithms available in plugin format.
There are 12 Reverb Machines in total, including traditional sounding Room, Hall, and Plate settings alongside the more unique and beautiful sounding Bloom, Cloud and Shimmer. Some of these use a range of pitch shifting, and reverse techniques, making this a very creative and flexible reverb plugin. As you select each algorithm, you get access to its specific controls for further tweaking, which gives the plugin an advantage over the menu diving required on the pedal version.
It’s also worth noting that Strymon has added an Infinite Sustain and a Freeze function to the plugin version, which can be used for creating larger textures.
Read our full BigSky plugin review here.
Key Features:

Price: £198
Type: Algorithmic (12 modes)
Notable features: A large number of different sounding, creative algorithms now available in one plugin

Get this plugin at Thomann.
Denise Audio – Perfect Room

Some room algorithms can tend to add metallic resonances that smother the original sound, but not so with Perfect Room. Denise Audio uses something they call TXVerb reverb technology to enhance the inherent character and colouration of your signal, without cluttering it with unwanted resonances and tinny artefacts. This means you can use it on lead instruments, bass guitars and kick drums, or even busses and whole mixes, as it avoids adding harshness.
It can also be used to turn mono instruments into expansive environments without any phase issues and comes with five different room types, and three tail shape options. There’s also a built-in ducker (which you can probably tell by this point is a must for a modern reverb plugin!), plus Shimmer and Detune parameters, making Perfect Room capable of more traditional spaces and extreme sound-designed effects.
Read our full Perfect Room review here. 
Key Features:

Price: $59
Type: Algorithmic (5 rooms and 3 tail shapes)
Shimmer, Detune and Ducker effects

Get this plugin at Plugin Boutique.
LiquidSonics – Seventh Heaven

LiquidSonics brings the coveted Bricasti M7 hardware reverb to life in this high-quality reverb plugin that captures the natural, lush, smooth and transparent sound of the original. It manages this through LiquidSonics proprietary Fusion-IR technology, which tracks the behaviour of a reverb through its early reflection through to the final tail stage. This results in a more evolving sound compared to a more traditional static IR snapshot. Although it’s based around convolution, you then get the ability to tweak a range of parameters as though you are editing an algorithmic reverb.
The full Professional version includes over 230 multi-sampled Fusion-IR presets, 32 selectable early reflection patterns, full surround support, an internal ducking effect, and a five-band oversampled master EQ. It has an exceptional sound that sits well in the mix, and the range of different captured algorithms makes it highly versatile.
Read our full Seventh Heaven Professional review here.
Key Features:

Price: $69 Seventh Heaven, $299 Seventh Heaven Professional
Type: Convolution (over 230 Fusion-IR presets)
Unique technology manages to capture the high-quality evolving sound of the hardware

Get this plugin at LiquidSonics.
sonible – smart:reverb

Sonible is one of the companies at the forefront of innovative, AI-based plugin design. Its smart:reverb plugin is a source-adaptive effect that can listen to your audio and create a custom preset to perfectly complement the source. You simply select an instrument from a drop-down menu and then click a record button to listen to a short portion of the track. The tailored preset can then be edited to your liking.
The controls are a little different to a traditional algorithmic reverb, with time-based graphs for controlling the Decay, Spread and Density, and an X/Y pad that lets you morph between Intimate, Rich, Natural and Artificial parameters. There are also controls for Width, a ducker (called Clarity), a basic EQ, and Freeze and Infinite buttons.
It may not be the best-sounding reverb in this list, but it has an excellent knack for getting sounds to sit well in the mix with minimal editing.
Read our full smart:reverb review here.
Key Features:

Price: $129 (also available in several bundles)
Type: Algorithmic (X/Y pad morphs between settings)
Unique time editing, AI adaptive preset creation can help generate presets in seconds

Get this plugin at Plugin Boutique.
Cableguys – ReverbShaper

Our final entry is also the most recently released. ReverbShaper loads into Cableguys’ excellent ShaperBox plugin and includes unique envelope-based editing features.
It’s a convolution-based plugin that comes with 127 varied IRs, plus the ability to load your own. You have more traditional controls for the decay time, width and pre-delay, and a Size slider that resamples the impulse to make it longer or short, whilst also affecting its pitch. The fun starts when you begin editing the volume of the reverb using the tempo-synced LFO tool, which has flexible drawing tools to create simple swells or complex, gated rhythms.
There’s also a graph to edit the Send signal, so you could just highlight a single snare in a loop to send through to the reverb, thus saving time with fiddly automation. On top of this, you have an envelope follower and audio or MIDI triggering, plus low, mid and high bands to split the IRs and controls. It’s probably the most creative tool on offer here, and also one of the cheapest.
Key Features:

Price: €39 / $39 (or €89 / $89 for full ShaperBox 3 with 10 effects)
Type: Convolution (127 IRs)
Notable features: Draw your reverb tails, envelope follower, audio triggering, multi-band functionality

Get this plugin at Pluqin Boutique.
Read more buyer’s guides via MusicTech.
The post Best reverb plugins 2024: Our favourite free and paid-for reverb plugins appeared first on MusicTech.

CES has almost fully succeeded in chasing sex-tech off its show floorsCES has long been a launchpad for innovation and cutting-edge technology. However, at this year’s event, there was a conspicuous void: the near-absence of sex tech. Despite being an industry that caters to a universal human experience, sex tech has always had an uneasy association with CES. This year, its conspicuous absence begs the question: […]
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Native Instruments’ FM8 and Massive 8 are available from £10 for a limited timeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. For more information on how this works click here.
Two of Native Instruments‘ most celebrated software synthesizers, Massive 8 and FM8, are both on sale with a discount of up to 92% on Plugin Boutique. In addition, NI’s Komplete 14 Select bundle is currently half-price, which includes Massive 8, Scarbee Rickenbacker Bass, Monark, and 15 other plugins plus eight expansion packs.
Famously used by the likes of Skrillex, Bonobo, deadmau5, Brian Eno and more, FM8 and Massive are modern classics that some would argue are must-haves. At a seriously low price of £10 for FM8 and £39 for Massive 8, they might be worth adding to your plugin folder, too.
FM8 – £10 until 15 January

FM8 is a frequency modulation (FM) synth that Native Instruments first released in 2007. Used by EDM heavyweights such as Skrillex, it boasts six operators, twelve built-in effects, 1,200 presets, an arpeggiator, and an intuitive GUI with a Morph Square for easy navigation. You can even load patches from classic FM hardware synths, such as the iconic Yamaha DX7.
Get it for £10 now at Plugin Boutique until 15 January 2024. 
Massive 8 – £39 until 15 January

Massive 8 is a wavetable synthesizer capable of creating huge, layered sounds and complex, unique patches. According to NI, Bonobo says “Massive is the most versatile synth out there. I use it relentlessly for a huge variety of sounds — from atmospheric pads to deep, layered basslines. Its capabilities seem endless.”
With three wavetable oscillators, assignable envelopes with deep modulations, built-in effects and an easy-to-understand interface, it’s no wonder that so many established artists have been flocking to Massive since its release in 2006. If you’ve always wanted it in your arsenal without spending £129, now’s your chance.
Get it for £39 now at Plugin Boutique until 15 January 2024
Native Instruments Komplete 14 Select – 50% off until 15 January 2024

Not satisfied with just FM8 and Massive 8? No worries – the Komplete 14 Select bundle has you covered. For £89.50 you can get 18 synths and eight expansion packs to amp up your sonic palette.
Massive, Monark, Scarbee Rickenbacker, Scarbee Mark 1, Reaktor, and more – this bundle will give you some seriously powerful instruments that will give you all you need to lay down a track.
Get it for £89.50 now at Plugin Boutique until 15 January 2024
Check out more music technology deals. 
The post Native Instruments’ FM8 and Massive 8 are available from £10 for a limited time appeared first on MusicTech.